civilized

Etymology

adj

  1. Having a highly developed society or culture; belonging to civilization.
    Like the wolf, man the hunter in killing the weak and unfit, actually works to maintain the health of the herd. But civilized man is quite a different animal, and when he wipes out an entire city or levels a forest, he is no longer working within the natural balance of things. 1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 196
  2. Showing evidence of moral and intellectual advancement; humane, reasonable, ethical.
  3. Marked by refinement in taste and manners.
    A waiter brought his aperitif, which was a small scotch and soda, and as he sipped it gratefully he sighed. ‘Civilized,’ he said to Mr. Campion. ‘Humanizing.’ […] ‘Cigars and summer days and women in big hats with swansdown face-powder, that's what it reminds me of.’ 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 5, in The China Governess

verb

  1. simple past and past participle of civilize

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